Several different types of wheelchairs have been developed to enable wheelchair occupants to have mobility in their everyday lives. Traditional or standard wheelchairs have a frame, a seat, a rigid or fixed seat back, large rear drive wheels, and smaller front caster wheels. Typically, the seat back has push handles for pushing by an attendant. The seat usually comprises a rigid seat frame and a seat cushion. Also, the rear wheels are positioned so as to be easily accessible to the wheelchair occupant to allow the wheelchair occupant to propel him or herself with greater ease.
In contrast to a standard wheelchair, a recliner wheelchair is adapted to have the seat back pivotally mounted so that the seat back can tilt backward. The reclining wheelchair is necessary or desirable for some wheelchair occupants for various reasons, such as the need to provide greater support for the occupant's head and trunk than is possible with a standard wheelchair. For example, a person with a head injury may need a recliner wheelchair to allow the best possible positioning of his or her immobilized head during a period of healing. The reclining wheelchair requires that the rear wheels be positioned significantly rearward of the pivot point because when the occupant reclines the seat back, the center of gravity shifts rearward.
Some people in need of a wheelchair are first confronted with the need for a recliner wheelchair, such as during a period of recovery from an injury, and then find that they need a standard wheelchair. Such wheelchair occupants have been required to purchase or otherwise acquire two different wheelchairs at considerable expense. It would be advantageous if some means could be developed to provide a wheelchair that could function both as a recliner wheelchair and as a standard wheelchair.